Report from Buenos Aires

Just back from 10 days of recharging my batteries in Buenos Aires – eating, shopping, snapping pictures, and of course, taking in a lot of great architecture, art, and design.

Part 1: Idarg — Argentinean Identity

On our way to Olsen for drinks, Lea and I came across Nobrand, a shop that is an extension of a project by designers Hernán Berdichevsky and Gustavo Stecher of imagenHB. The project, Idarg, is a book and a line of clothing and other products, stemming from a series of bold, graphic icons. These icons were designed “with the objective of rethinking and presenting Argentina from a different angle, through the analysis of our identity and of design from a repertoire of icons that synthesize and communicate the national self.”

Idarg is an interesting project that will also be presented by AIGA as an exhibition in New York this summer.

Part 2: Filete Porteño

Filete Porteño is a traditional decorative painting style that emerged in the late 19th century in Buenos Aires, adorning trucks, buses, buildings, signs, and eventually even the finest restaurants and popular products. It is typified by delicate, calligraphic linework, ornamental flourishes, flowers, and leaves.

We bought two books on Filete Porteño during our stay, both by Alfredo Genovese, master fileteado. We also picked up a book on the city buses, and another on stenciling, which seems to be the most prevalent form of graffiti in the city. Here’s some pictures: